


It's Better With You

by lady_illiya



Series: axgweek 2013 [6]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-10
Updated: 2013-08-10
Packaged: 2017-12-23 00:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/919715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_illiya/pseuds/lady_illiya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arya has trouble letting go of her childhood anger, but Gendry helps. For Arya x Gendry Week Day 6: Calm</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Better With You

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know what happened with this one, it started as something else, and then this just happened, and I really like how it turned out. Hope you do too!

She did not understand them; they all acted so normal, like nothing in the last several years happened. Like it was normal for them to be playing happy family when they’re missing their parents and their brother. That it wasn’t a big deal that they were all split up seven years ago when they were placed in the foster care system right after some robbers murdered their mother and older brother Robb.

Child protection services had showed up with the police to tell them the news. Their mother had taken Robb, her eldest at sixteen, to her brother’s wedding only to be held up at gunpoint, apparently firing when Catelyn refused to give up her wedding ring. With their father having died a year and a half prior, they did not have anyone to stay with. At the time of his death, Catelyn had sent their half-brother, Jon, off to live with Ned’s brother, however, her uncle had gone missing since then, and Jon moved in with some friends. Their mother’s sister, according to the police, was unable to take them in, due to the failing health of her own son.

So they were to be placed in the foster care system, hopefully there would be someone to who could take a couple of them together until they got adopted, maybe someone would even adopt the four of them together. The women from the child protection service smiled warmly then, as if to reassure them everything was ok. Arya didn’t believe her for a second, she wasn’t an idiot, she was 11, Sansa was 13, they were too old, people who were adopting wanted to adopt young kids, one’s who would grow up to call them Mom and Dad. Bran was nine, and with his condition he required even additional care. Rickon had the best chance of them all, he was only five, he already couldn’t remember much about their father, and his memories of their mother would soon fade. They packed what they could, and were taken away.

They adjusted at first, Arya was happy that at least Bran and Rickon were together. At first they were able to keep in contact with each other. She found out from Bran when Rickon got adopted, some nice women named Osha, who apparently wanted to take Bran too, but couldn’t afford the medical costs that came with his paralyze. So she lost track of Rickon, and soon after, Bran was moved too, then Arya moved, and she moved a lot.

Her foster families were problematic, a mix of them and her. She was difficult, yes, she missed her family, and was angry at how little was done to avenge her mother and brother. Once she started running away she went from good homes, to homes for the troubled teen. The first home for the troubled she was sent to was called Harrenhal House. She was crammed into crappy sleeping nooks and forced to follow intense and over the top house rules. She was beat for the first time there.

It didn’t take her long to run away.

The next place was better, for a while, The Brotherhood, mostly a bunch of orphaned teenage boys, but Arya really liked it there, even got along great with a couple of the boys, starting to think of them as her family. However, that changed when they found out who she really was. Then the home was planning on taking advantage of who her wealthy parents were in hopes of making some money, as she split from there as well.

She didn’t want to go back into the system, so she didn’t, and she learned how to survive on her own. She moved, getting away from where she grew up, away from where she might be recognized. She was living on the streets for a time, picking pockets to get by, until she made the mistake of catching the eye of monk from a local temple, who, instead of calling the police, invited her in. She stayed there for the next several years, working odd jobs in the neighborhood. She kept up with the stories from back home, and she couldn’t say she didn’t take them with a grain of salt. Stories about her siblings were common, where were the last of the Starks? Naturally they were protected in the system, but she’d be lying if she said the system wasn’t corrupt. People found out where her siblings were and reports of their deaths or disappearances appeared. At first she was crushed, the anger festering inside her, but then again, people presumed she was dead too, and here she was, so she allowed herself to hope. After a time, she let the stories wash over her, forcing herself to forget, Arya Stark brought her nothing but trouble, it was better if she was No One.

Years went by this way, and she’s sad to say she did forget herself a little, it was simply easier, she forgot her anger, stored it inside her for a time she could do something about it. Around the time she turned eighteen the neighborhood was all of a flutter, and she wandered around listening to scraps of conversation before she spotted a newspaper from a week prior with who could only be her sister Sansa on the front page. She paid for the paper and ran off to read it in peace, tears forming in her eyes as she read about the return of the “Stark Heir”. Sansa was twenty now, and had been apparently trying for the last two years to get her siblings back together. She was pictured in front of the family estate, which had fallen to her grandfather’s nephew or something like that to care for until Sansa came to age.

Apparently they had been in the courts for a while trying to get the _Bolton’s_ to comply with Ned and Catelyn’s Starks will. Sansa has also been trying to get her siblings records unsealed, and was in negotiations with the adoption agency to contact Rickon. She plea’s for any information about her lost sister, Arya, who vanished from her foster home many years ago and has not been seen since.

Arya didn’t need to read more, she sprinted back to the temple and packed her meager belongings, the Kindly Man-that’s what she called the monk who saved her all those years ago-was waiting at the door with a smile. He wished her a safe journey home, and gave her the most fatherly hug she’s had in years.

She took a bus to the train station, and before she knew it the cab was dropping her off at her old childhood home. She shouldered her bag ad approached the gate, buzzing in to speak. She didn’t answer at first after she heard her sister’s voice for the first time in seven years crackling through the intercom. It took a second “Hello, who’s there?” before she reached out and pressed the button.

“Sansa?” her voice cracked. “Sansa, it’s me.”

She was met with silence for a moment, before, “Arya?”

The gates opened and Arya and Sansa had met in a tangle of limbs in the driveway.

Shortly thereafter, Bran returned, having apparently been staying with one of their father’s friend’s children. Then, much to the joy of Sansa, they were able to reunite with Rickon, his adopted mother wanted him to be able to know his biological siblings. He didn’t live with them, but he lived close so they saw him often.

But all that brought them to where they were today; acting as if nothing was wrong, they were all so calm, and Arya just didn’t understand it! Bran went to school, did afterschool activities, hung out with the Reed girl. Sansa was still working with the lawyer to get everything set in order from their parents will and had started taking classes at the University close by, she even went out on dates.

All the anger that Arya had suppressed over the years came flooding back, her mother and brother’s murderer was never caught, the police barely did anything, anyone who thought they deserved some of the Starks fortune tried to get their hands on it.

Her family was broken, and she just couldn’t move on like her siblings seemed to, which lead her to where she was right now. Sitting in the park, on a bench, silently fuming. She tried some of the calming techniques she learned at the temple, and they worked for the moment, but the anger always returned.

She continued this trend for a while, whenever she couldn’t handle how normal it was at home, she’d escape to this park, sit on this bench and stare out over the lake. So she was surprised one day when a tall dark haired man plopped down awkwardly besides her. He stared ahead for a bit, shifting his eyes to her every once in a while. She raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.

Finally, he spoke, “Hi, uh, I just see you out here a lot, and, uh, thought you’d like some company.” His voice tilted at the end so it sounded like a question.

She glared, “You thought wrong.” She scowled at him, and looked away, but that didn’t stop her eyes from darting back to him. He had a rather stupid look on his face, like he was thinking too hard, he leaned forward, as if to stand, but apparently changed his mind. He settled back against the bench, but stayed silent. Arya fidgeted, still agitated, and decided to promptly ignore him.

He joined her again a week later, much to her chagrin; she felt embarrassed about how she acted last time while simultaneously seething that he had the nerve to sit with her again. The annoyance won out, and she didn’t say anything to him.

After a while he made to get up, and she thought that would be the end of it, but before he walked away, he said to her, “I’m Gendry.” She furrowed her brows at him as he walked away. The name sounded a bit familiar, but Arya couldn’t put her finger on it, so she shook off the feeling and went home.

Over the next couple of days her thoughts keep drifting back to the man, Gendry, she knew now, and thought about going somewhere else the next time she felt overwhelmed, but to be honest, her curiosity was now officially peeked. So she continued to go to the park with the lake and sit at the same bench to, well, brood.

Much to her (well hidden) delight, he did come back and join her again. She stayed silent though, she felt a little guilty at how she acted but didn’t say anything until he once again rose to leave, and she blurted after him, “I’m Arya.” He turned to look at her, nodding, before continuing his leave.

After that point, he started sitting with her more often, and they would talk sometimes. Before she knew it, she found herself going to the park not just when she felt like internally combusting from anger. Something about him calmed her down, and found herself looking forward to seeing him, just for the feeling of sanity.

She found herself sitting beside him once more when the subject turned to family, she had found herself giving a mini rant about her perfect sister when she found him looking at her funny. “What?” she snapped at him.

“Nothing” He said quickly, shaking his head, “I just didn’t think you had any siblings.” His hand had found the back of his neck and was rubbing it.

“Yeah, I have,” she caught herself before she said five, “uh, four, but I only live with two.”

“Where are the other two?” He seemed genuine, and Arya didn’t really know what else to do beside answer, even if it felt weird, she didn’t talk about her family much.

“My older brother, I don’t actually know where he is, some academy I think. And my youngest brother…” She trailed off. He didn’t say anything, just waited until she was ready to finish her sentence, “he got adopted, actually.” He didn’t seem surprised at her statement, just nodded, and all of a sudden she remembered where she knew his name.

She gasped, turning fully to face him, staring at his face like she’s never seen before. He looked almost taken aback by her sudden movement. “I _know_ you!” She exclaimed, and he rose an eyebrow at her, “No! I remember you, you were at The Brotherhood with me…” she trailed off unsurely, she had not planned to admit the out loud. So she turned defensive, standing up and biting out “What’s wrong with you!? Were you never going to tell me that?” She stormed off, not getting too far before he grabbed her arm and spun her around.

“Will you let me speak for once before you run off!” He ground out, teeth grinding. She stayed quiet, if he wanted to talk, fine. “I wanted to, when I first saw you here I wanted to run up and give you a hug, I mean, shit! Arya! You just vanished one day, we tried looking for you, the whole house did, and after you didn’t show up anywhere, we all thought the worst. Fuck!” His hand was rubbing through his hair, his hand clenching around his short locks. “I thought you were murdered or something. So when I saw you here, I thought I was imagining it for a second, and that second was enough for me to actually see you, and you just looked, so, _angry_. I hesitated, I didn’t want to approach you if you were all pissy; you never exactly had the best temper. But then you kept coming back, and you were always glowering, so I figured I had no choice but to approach you when you were mad, and sure enough, what happened?” She had snapped at him, “You snapped at me! And you didn’t seem to recognize me, and I could’ve just left it, but I didn’t want to lose you again, so I came back again and again, and you seemed to get, I dunno, calmer around me, I thought…maybe I was helping.”

He looked a bit sad now, like he was maybe thinking he was actually all wrong. “You were, I mean, you do, help that is.” She shuffled her feet a bit, looking up at him. “I was, angry that is, all the time, I was happy being with my family again, but Sansa, and Bran and Rickon all seemed so normal, like our family was reunited again and therefore whole again. I wanted the people who took Dad, and Mom, and Robb to suffer, I wanted the investigation to be reopened, but everyone else just wanted to move on, and I, I couldn’t. You calm me down, and I didn’t know how much I needed that, I look forward to seeing you and miss you when you’re not around, just because you make me feel better, the hot ball of rage that eats me up inside goes away when I’m with you.” Tears were prickling her eyes, she blinked up at him.

His hand reached up to her face, brushing his thumb across her cheekbone. He had this half smile on his face, and his eyes kept darting to the region of her face that her lips resided. His hand moved to her neck and before she knew it his lips were on hers, and her arms had found their way around his neck. When they broke for air, she was smiling, “You still should have told me about The Brotherhood.”

“Sorry, m’lady.” The laugh she released was quickly swallowed by his lips, and she had absolutely no problem with that, because when she was with him, she was better.


End file.
